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The Gainesville High School Hurricanes came up short in the Class 5A state championship game Friday against the New Smyrna Beach Barracudas, 56-49 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
The Barracudas (27-5) used a dominant third quarter to capture their first state title in school history.
This was the Hurricanes (17-9) first state final appearance in more than 100 years. Their last two were wins in 1921 and 1923. However, the game then was played half court and was 3-on-3.
The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak for GHS, which advanced to its first final four since 1987.
A Hot Start
https://twitter.com/carston_handy/status/1898131713064419482
The Hurricanes were able to jump out to an early 8-2 lead after two successful trips to the basket early in the quarter and then a long 2-point shot from senior Mayah Gordon. They were able to maintain a comfortable lead up until the buzzer when New Smyrna Beach sophomore Iniya Reddicks hit a 3-pointer that pulled the Barracudas within one. The first quarter ended with the Hurricanes up 15-14.
https://twitter.com/carston_handy/status/1898132996693078152
The Barracudas grabbed their first lead of the game on their first possession in the second quarter with a fadeaway jumper from Iniya Reddicks. New Smyrna would not lose the lead again in the game and continued to build upon it with a quick 3-pointer from Marshall signee Olivia Olson. In the first half Olson was 3-for-6 from the field and had 11 points along with five rebounds.
A New Half
Coming out of half the Barracudas were up 29-26 and now was the time for the Hurricanes to make a move. Unfortunately, GHS started the third quarter 0-for-4 and didn’t score any points until the 3:34 mark. Despite being able to go on a 5-0 run later, it wasn’t enough for the Hurricanes to close the gap. The Barracudas shot 55% from the field in comparison to the Hurricanes 21% in the third quarter and Olson alone went 4-for-6 from the field with one being a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give her team the 44-36 lead heading into the final quarter.
Olson goes 1-2, and the Canes can’t score on the other end
Barracudas going to the line, up 53-49
16.7 left pic.twitter.com/JLEGzcwqPH
— Noah Ram (@Noah_ram1) March 7, 2025
The fourth quarter saw much of the same with Olson dominating. She finished the game with a double-double by going 10-for-16 from the field to score 30 points and grab 12 rebounds.
The Hurricanes were able to close the gap to three with 50 seconds left and had possession, but were unable to capitalize. Jamison Cardwell and Louisiana Tech signee Jayden Terry led the Hurricanes with 18 points each.
